Mobile device, content distribution system, and content distribution method

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a mobile device that is able to receive content of a server even before a predetermined time interval elapses. 
     The mobile device comprises a first transmission portion, which transmits a content transmission request to a first server, a second transmission portion, which transmits a content transmission request to a second server, a transmission control portion, which outputs transmission instruction information ordering the transmission of a content transmission request to the first transmission portion and second transmission portion, and a notice reception portion, which receives an urgent notice that is transmitted from the first server. The transmission control portion outputs transmission instruction information to the first transmission portion at a predetermined first time interval or when the notice reception portion receives the urgent notice, and outputs transmission instruction information to the second transmission portion at a second predetermined time interval.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a mobile device, content distributionsystem, and content distribution method.

2. Description of the Related Art

A method in which, when content that is provided via a network such asthe Internet is obtained by using a mobile device such as a cellularphone, the user of the mobile device (subscriber) operates the mobiledevice to issue a request to a server installed by the content providerto distribute content and the accordingly distributed content ismonitored, is typical. In recent years, in addition to this typicalmethod, a method that regularly updates content that is pre-selected bythe user even when the user does not operate the mobile device has alsobeen considered. This method involves a request to transmit contentbeing issued from the mobile device of the user to the server (dependingon the case, a plurality of servers) of the content provider at apredetermined time interval.

Further, in a network that is constructed through integration of aplurality of computers, procedures such as poling are known asprocessing in which one host computer confirms a request to transmitdata to a plurality of terminal computers (see Japanese PatentApplication Laid Open No. 2000-201156, for example).

In the technology above, even in cases where a content provider wishesto transmit urgent content to users, for example, the server is unableto transmit content unless the users themselves request transmission tothe server by operating their mobile devices until a predetermined timeinterval (that is, poling cycle) has elapsed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a mobiledevice, content distribution system, and content distribution methodthat make it possible to receive content at the time the intentions ofthe content provider are reflected.

The mobile device of the present invention is a mobile device thatreceives and displays content transmitted from a first server and asecond server respectively, comprising: first transmitting means fortransmitting a content transmission request requesting the transmissionof the content to the first server; second transmitting means fortransmitting a content transmission request requesting the transmissionof the content to the second server; transmission control means foroutputting transmission instruction information ordering thetransmission of the content transmission request to the firsttransmitting means and the second transmitting means; and noticereceiving means for receiving an urgent notice ordering the acquisitionof the content transmitted from the first server, wherein thetransmission control means outputs the transmission instructioninformation to the first transmitting means at a predetermined firsttime interval or when the notice receiving means receives the urgentnotice, and outputs the transmission instruction information at apredetermined second time interval to the second transmitting means.

According to the mobile device of the present invention, when the mobiledevice receives an urgent notice that is transmitted from the firstserver, the mobile device issues a request to the first server totransmit content. Therefore, the mobile device is able to request thedistribution of content in accordance with an instruction from the firstserver even before a time interval that is determined beforehand by themobile device has elapsed. In addition, the mobile device transmits acontent transmission request only in accordance with an urgent noticethat is transmitted from the first server. Therefore, even when anurgent notice is transmitted from the second server, for example, acontent transmission request is not transmitted. Hence, it is possibleto distinguish between a server whose urgent-notice instruction is to befollowed and a server whose urgent-notice instruction is not to befollowed.

Furthermore, the mobile device of the present invention may beconstituted comprising first time interval changing means for changingthe first time interval. Likewise, the mobile device of the presentinvention may be constituted comprising second time interval changingmeans for changing the second time interval. As a result, content can betransmitted to the servers at a time interval that is optionally set bythe user.

The content distribution system of the present invention comprises afirst server that transmits first content and an urgent notice orderingthe acquisition of the content; a second server that transmits secondcontent; a mobile device for receiving and displaying the first contentand the second content, which comprises first transmitting means fortransmitting a content transmission request requesting the transmissionof the first content to the first server, second transmitting means fortransmitting a content transmission request requesting the transmissionof the second content to the second server, transmission control meansfor outputting transmission instruction information that orders thetransmission of the content transmission request to the firsttransmitting means and the second transmitting means; and receivingmeans for receiving the first content and the urgent notice transmittedfrom the first server and receiving the second content transmitted fromthe second server, and in which the transmission control means outputsthe transmission instruction information to the first transmitting meansat a predetermined first time interval or when the receiving meansreceives the urgent notice, and outputs the transmission instructioninformation at a predetermined second time interval to the secondtransmitting means, wherein the first server transmits the first contentto the receiving means of the mobile device upon receipt of the contenttransmission request transmitted from the first transmitting means ofthe mobile device; and the second server transmits the second content tothe receiving means of the mobile device upon receipt of the contenttransmission request transmitted from the second transmitting means ofthe mobile device.

According to the content distribution system of the present invention,as per the case of the invention of the mobile device above, when themobile device receives an urgent notice that is transmitted from thefirst server, the mobile device issues a request to the first server totransmit content. Therefore, even before a time interval that isdetermined beforehand by the mobile device has elapsed, the mobiledevice is able to request the distribution of content in accordance withan instruction from the first server. In addition, the mobile devicetransmits the content transmission request only in accordance with anurgent notice that is transmitted from the first server. Therefore, evenwhen an urgent notice is transmitted from the second server, forexample, a content transmission request is not transmitted. Hence, it ispossible to distinguish between a server that follows an urgent noticeinstruction and a server that does not follow such an instruction.

In the case of the content distribution system of the present invention,the first server further comprises: first data receiving means forreceiving first data and the urgent notice that are transmitted from aserver constituting a first network; first storing means for storing thefirst data; and first extracting means for extracting, as the firstcontent, at least a portion of the first data stored by the firststoring means, wherein the first server transmits the, first contentthat is extracted by the first extracting means and the urgent notice tothe receiving means of the mobile device; and the second servercomprises: second data receiving means for receiving second data thatare transmitted from a server constituting a second network; secondstoring means for storing the second data; and second extracting meansfor extracting, as the second content, at least a portion of the seconddata stored by the second storing means, wherein the second server maytransmit the second content that is extracted by the second extractingmeans to the receiving means of the mobile device. With such aconstitution, the mobile device is able to receive only content from thefirst network with the first and second servers serving as relay serversthat are interposed between the network and the mobile device.

Further, in the content distribution system of the present invention,the mobile device may further comprise first distributed contentselecting means for selecting the first content that is extracted by thefirst extracting means of the first server; the first server maycomprise first select content registering means for registering thefirst content selected by the first distributed content selecting means;and the first extracting means may extract data registered by the firststoring means in accordance with the first content registered by thefirst select content registering means. Likewise, the mobile device maycomprise second distributed content selecting means for selecting thesecond content that is extracted by the second extracting means of thesecond server; the second server may comprise second select contentregistering means for registering the second content selected by thesecond distributed content selecting means; and the second extractingmeans may extract data stored by the second storing means in accordancewith the second content registered by the second select contentregistering means. With such a constitution, the user is able toindividually select, content that the mobile device receives from thefirst server and content that the mobile device receives from the secondserver and then register the content in each server.

Further, in addition to what can be said for the invention of thecontent distribution system as mentioned above, the same is true for theinvention of the content distribution method as detailed below. The twoinventions differ only in category and are substantially the sameinventions that exhibit similar actions and effects.

The content distribution method of the present invention 8 is a contentdistribution method of a system that comprises a first server thattransmits first content and an urgent notice ordering the acquisition ofthe content, a second server that transmits second content, and a mobiledevice that receives and displays the first content and the secondcontent, comprising: a first transmission step in which the firsttransmitting means of the mobile device transmits a content transmissionrequest requesting the transmission of the first content to the firstserver; a second transmission step in which the second transmittingmeans of the mobile device transmits a content transmission requestrequesting the transmission of the second content to the second server;a transmission control step in which transmission control means of themobile device outputs transmission instruction information ordering thetransmission of the content transmission request to the firsttransmitting means or the second transmitting means; a first contenttransmission step in which the first server transmits the first contentto the receiving means of the mobile device upon receipt of the contenttransmission request transmitted from the first transmitting means ofthe mobile device; a second content transmission step in which thesecond server transmits the second content to the receiving means of themobile device upon receipt of the content transmission requesttransmitted from the second transmitting means of the mobile device; anda receiving step in which the receiving means of the mobile devicereceives the first content and the urgent notice that are transmittedfrom the first server or receives the second content that is transmittedfrom the second server, wherein, in the transmission control step, thetransmission control means of the mobile device outputs the transmissioninstruction information to the first transmitting means at apredetermined first time interval or when the receiving means of themobile device receives the urgent notice, and the transmission controlmeans of the mobile device outputs the transmission instructioninformation to the second transmitting means at a predetermined secondtime interval.

According to the present invention, the mobile device is able to receivecontent in accordance with a request from the server side even before atime interval that is determined beforehand by the mobile device haselapsed. Therefore, the mobile device is able to receive content at thetime the intentions of the content provider are reflected.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows the constitution of the content distribution systemaccording to the first embodiment;

FIG. 2 illustrates the procedure when the mobile device acquires contentat a predetermined time interval in the content distribution of thefirst embodiment;

FIG. 3 serves to illustrate the procedure when a mobile device that hasreceived an urgent notice acquires content in the content distributionof the first embodiment;

FIG. 4 shows the constitution of the content distribution systemaccording to a second embodiment;

FIG. 5 serves to illustrate the procedure when the mobile deviceacquires content at a predetermined time interval in the contentdistribution according to the second embodiment; and

FIG. 6 illustrates the procedure when the mobile device that hasreceived an urgent notice acquires content in the content distributionof the second embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The findings of the present invention can be easily understood byconsidering the following detailed description with reference to theattached drawings that are shown only for the sake of exemplification.Embodiments of the present invention will be described successively withreference to the attached drawings. Where possible, the same codes havebeen assigned to the same parts and repetitive description is avoided.

First Embodiment

The content distribution system of the first embodiment will bedescribed with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

First, the constitution of the content distribution system of the firstembodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 1. A contentdistribution system 1 shown in FIG. 1 comprises a mobile device 10, afirst server 20 and a second server 30, which are constituted capable tomutual information communication.

The mobile device 10 is an information communication terminal that isused by the user, examples of which include a cellular phone or a PDAwith a communication function.

The mobile device 10 comprises, as functional constituent elements, afirst transmission portion 101 (first transmitting means), a secondtransmission portion 102 (second transmitting means), a transmissioncontrol portion 103 (third control means), a reception portion 106(receiving means), a setting operation portion 120, a content processingportion 140, and a display portion 160. In addition, the settingoperation portion 120 comprises a first time interval changing portion121 (first time interval changing means), and a second time intervalchanging portion 122 (second time interval changing means), and thetransmission control portion 103 comprises a first timer 104 and asecond timer 105. Further, the reception portion 106 comprises a noticereception portion 107 (notice receiving means).

The functions and operation of each of the elements that constitute themobile device 10 will now be described in succession.

The first transmission portion 101 is a part that transmits a contenttransmission request requesting the transmission of content to the firstserver 20. Likewise, the second transmission portion 102 is a part thattransmits a content transmission request to the second server 30. Thefirst transmission portion 101 and second transmission portion 102receive an input of transmission instruction information that isoutputted from the transmission control portion 103 and transmit thecontent transmission request to the respective servers 20 and 30.

The transmission control portion 103 outputs transmission instructioninformation to the first transmission portion 101 or second transmissionportion 102 in the following cases:

-   1) when an output is made to the first transmission portion 101 at    the first time interval that is determined beforehand by the first    timer 104;-   2) when an output is made to the second transmission portion 102 at    the second time interval that is determined beforehand by the second    timer 105;-   3) when an output is made to the first transmission portion 101 as a    result of the notice reception portion 107 receiving an urgent    notice ordering the acquisition of content that is transmitted from    the first server 20;-   4) when an output is made to the first transmission portion 101 as a    result of the user operating the setting operation portion 120 of    the mobile device; and-   5) when an output is made to the second transmission portion 102 as    a result of the user operating the setting operation portion 120 of    the mobile device.

The first timer 104 operates the transmission control portion 103 totransmit transmission instruction information to the first transmissionportion 101 at the predetermined first time interval. Likewise, thesecond timer 105 operates the transmission control portion 103 totransmit the transmission instruction information to the secondtransmission portion 102 at the predetermined second time interval.

The reception portion 106 is a part that receives first content that istransmitted from the first server 20 and second content that istransmitted from the second server 30. The received content is outputtedto the content processing portion 140. The notice reception portion 107of the reception portion 106 is a part that receives an urgent noticethat is transmitted from the first server 20 and the received urgentnotice is outputted to the transmission control portion 103.

The setting operation portion 120 outputs an instruction relating to theoutput of the transmission instruction information by the transmissioncontrol portion 103 and an instruction to display content stored in thecontent processing portion 140 on the display portion 160 in accordancewith operation by the user. Further, the first time interval changingportion 121 is able to change the first time interval set by the firsttimer 104. Likewise, the second time interval changing portion 122 isable to change the second time interval set by the second timer 105.Further, the time interval changing may allow only one of the first timeinterval and second time interval, and the width of the time intervalmay be set arbitrarily in a predetermined range such as from one minuteto two weeks. For example, the first timer 104 may be set with aninitial value of three hours and the second timer 105 may be constitutedso that the user can make an arbitrary selection from a variety of timeintervals between one minute and two weeks.

The content processing portion 140 stores content inputted via thereception portion 106 from the first server 20 and second server 30 andoutputs the stored content to the display portion on the basis ofinstructions from the setting operation portion 120. The display portion160 displays the content that is outputted from the content processingportion 140.

The constitution of the first server 20 will be described next. Thefirst server 20 is a system constituted by a computer or a plurality ofcomputers that supply data and functions and so forth to the mobiledevice 10. The first server 20 comprises a CPU (central processingunit), a memory, an inputting device such as a mouse or keyboard, adisplay device such as a display, and a storage device such as a harddisk, and the like (none of which is illustrated).

The first server 20 comprises, as functional constituent elements, afirst transmission request reception portion 201, a first storageportion 202 that stores first content 203, a first content transmissionportion 204, and an urgent notice transmission portion 205. The firststorage portion 202 comprises a first extraction portion 215.

The first transmission request reception portion 201 is a part thatreceives a content transmission request from the first transmissionportion 101 of the mobile device 10 and outputs the content transmissionrequest to the first storage portion. The first storage portion 202receives the content transmission request and outputs first content 203to a second content transmission portion 304. The first extractionportion 215 of the first storage portion 202 is a part that extracts thefirst content 203 transmitted to the mobile device 10 from the datastored by the first storage portion 202 in accordance with the receptionof the content transmission request. The first content transmissionportion 204 transmits the extracted first content 203 to the receptionportion 106 of the mobile device 10.

The urgent notice transmission portion 205 transmits an urgent noticeordering the mobile device 10 to acquire content from the first server20 to the notice reception portion 107 of the mobile device 10. Forexample, the first server 20 can be constituted such that the urgentnotice transmission portion 205 transmits an urgent notice to the mobiledevice 10 in the following cases:

-   1) when the first server 20 receives an urgent-notice transmission,    instruction from outside (from another server or information    communication terminal or the like);-   2) when the first storage portion 202 of the first server 20 stores    content that includes data relating to an urgent notice from the    content information provider; and-   3) when the first storage portion 202 of the first server 20 stores    content that is determined beforehand by the user.

The constitution of the second server 30 will be described next. Theconstitution of the second server 30 is the same as that of the firstserver except for the fact that there is no urgent notice transmissionportion 205 in the first server 20. The transmission request receptionportion, storage portion, extraction portion, and content transmissionportion, which are elements with the same names except for the ordinalpart have the same functions as the corresponding elements of the firstserver 20. More specifically, a second transmission request receptionportion 301 receives a content transmission request from the secondtransmission portion 102 of the mobile device 10. When the secondtransmission request reception portion 301 receives the contenttransmission request, a second extraction portion 315 of a secondstorage portion 302 extracts second content 303 that is transmitted tothe mobile device 10. The second storage portion 302 outputs theextracted second content 303 to the second content transmission portion304 and the second content transmission portion 304 transmits the secondcontent 303 to the reception portion 106 of the mobile device 10.

The operation of the content distribution system 1 will be describednext with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. First, a case where the mobiledevice acquires content at a predetermined time interval will bedescribed by using FIG. 2. When the first time interval, which isdetermined beforehand from a time that constitutes a starting point suchas when the power of the mobile device 10 is turned ON, when content isfinally acquired, or when the date is changed, has elapsed in the firsttimer 104 (SO1), the transmission control portion 103 outputstransmission instruction information to the first transmission portion101 (S02). The first transmission portion 101 receives an input oftransmission instruction information, generates a content transmissionrequest that asks the first server 20 to transmit content (S03), andtransmits a content transmission request to the first transmissionrequest reception portion 201 of the first server 20 (S04). The firstextraction portion 215 of the first storage portion 202 extracts thefirst content 203, which is to be transmitted to the mobile device 10,from stored data in accordance with the reception of the contenttransmission request by the first transmission request reception portion201 (S05). Further, the first extraction portion 215 extracts contentthat is designated by the information communication network provider,the user, or the content provider. The first content transmissionportion 204 transmits the extracted first content 203 to the receptionportion 106 of the mobile device 10 (S06).

Although a case where the mobile device 10 acquires the first content203 stored in the first server 20 at the first time interval isdescribed here, the same is true for a case where the mobile device 10acquires the second content 303 stored in the second server 30 at thesecond time interval. More specifically, the first transmission portion101 is replaced with the second transmission portion 102, the firsttimer 104 is replaced with the second timer 105, the first transmissionrequest reception portion 201 is replaced with the second transmissionrequest reception portion 301, the first storage portion 202 is replacedwith the second storage portion 302, the first content 203 is replacedwith the second content 303, the first content transmission portion 204is replaced with the second content transmission portion 304, and thefirst extraction portion 215 is replaced with the second extractionportion 315 in the above description, and the operation shown in FIG. 2is performed.

A case where the mobile device 10, which has received an urgent noticefrom the first server 20, acquires content will be described next byusing FIG. 3. First, the first server 20 receives an urgent notice fromoutside ordering the mobile device 10 to acquire content or generates anurgent notice on the basis of content that is stored in the firststorage portion 202 (S11). The urgent notice transmission portion 205transmits the received or generated urgent notice to the noticereception portion 107 provided in the reception portion 106 of themobile device 10 (S12). The transmission control portion 103 outputstransmission instruction information to the first transmission portion101 in accordance with the reception of the urgent notice by the noticereception portion 107 (S13). The first transmission portion 101 receivesthe input of the transmission instruction information and generates acontent transmission request that asks the first server 20 to transmitcontent (S14) and transmits the content transmission request to thefirst transmission request reception portion 201 of the first server 20(S15). The first storage portion 202 extracts first content 203 (contentcontaining at least content corresponding to an urgent notice), which isto be transmitted to the user of the mobile device 10, from stored datain accordance with the reception of the content transmission request bythe first transmission request reception portion 201 (S16). The firstcontent transmission portion 204 transmits the extracted first content203 to the reception portion 106 of the mobile device 10 (S17).

As a result of such a constitution, in the content distribution system 1of the mobile device of the first embodiment, the mobile device 10 isable to request that the first server 20 transmit content upon receivingan urgent notice that is transmitted from the first server 20.Therefore, even before the first time interval determined beforehand inthe mobile device 10 has elapsed, the mobile device 10 is able torequest the distribution of content in accordance with an instructionfrom the first server 20 (that is, the aims of the informationcommunication network provider, user, or content provider). In addition,the mobile device 10 transmits a content transmission request only inaccordance with an urgent notice that is transmitted from the firstserver 20 and, therefore, even when an urgent notice is transmitted fromthe second server, for example, the mobile device 10 does not transmit acontent transmission request. Hence, it is possible to distinguishbetween a server whose urgent-notice instruction is to be followed (thefirst server 20 in this embodiment) and a server whose urgent-noticeinstruction is not to be followed (the second server 30 in thisembodiment).

Further, although a case where the mobile device 10 transmits a contenttransmission request to a server in accordance with a first timeinterval, second time interval, or an urgent notice to acquire contenthas mainly been described here, a constitution is also possible in whicha content transmission request can be transmitted to the first server 20or the second server 30 as a result of the user operating the settingoperation portion 120 of the mobile device 10.

The content distribution system of the second embodiment will bedescribed next with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6.

First, the constitution of a content distribution system 2 of the secondembodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 4. The contentdistribution system 2 shown in FIG. 4 has the same constitution as thatof the content distribution system 1 according to the first embodimentexcept for one part. That is, the fact that the content distributionsystem 2 of the second embodiment comprises a first network 40 and asecond network 50 makes the content distribution system 2 differ fromthe content distribution system 1 of the first embodiment. The firstnetwork 40 and second network 50 are constituted by network elementssuch as a server that is capable of distributing data that containscontent, and the first network 40 is capable of communicatinginformation mutually with the first server 20, while the second network50 is capable of communicating information mutually with the secondserver 30.

In addition to these differences, the setting operation portion 120 ofthe mobile device 10 comprises a first distributed content selectionportion 126 (first distributed content selecting means) for selectingcontent to be extracted from first data 213 in the first server 20 andregistering information relating to the selected content in a firstselect content registration portion 214 of the first server 20. Thefirst distributed content selection portion 126 transmits data relatingto the content selection to the first server 20 via the transmissioncontrol portion 103 and first transmission portion 101 and registers thedata in the first select content registration portion 214 of the firststorage portion 202 via the first transmission request reception portion201 (first select content registering means). Likewise, the settingoperation portion 120 of the mobile device 10 comprises a seconddistributed content selection portion 127 (second distributed contentselecting means) for selecting content to be extracted from second data313 in the second server 30 and registering information relating to theselected content in a second select content registration portion 314(second select content selecting means) of the second server 30.

In addition, the first server 20 further comprises a first datareception portion 211 (first data receiving means) that receives datafrom the first network 40. The first storage portion 202 furthercomprises the first select content registration portion 214 (firstselect content registering means) for registering content that isextracted by the first extraction portion 215 and stores the first data213 received by the first data reception portion 211. Likewise, thesecond server 30 comprises a second data reception portion 311 (seconddata receiving means) that receives data from the second network 50.Further, the second storage portion 302 comprises the second selectcontent registration portion 314 (second select content registeringmeans) for registering content that is extracted by the secondextraction portion 315 and stores the second data 313 that is receivedby the second data reception portion 311.

Further, the first data 213 and second data 313 mentioned here are datathat are received by the first server 20 and second server 30 from anetwork element such as the server constituting the first network 40 ora network element such as the server constituting the second network 50.These data are referred to as the aggregate of the content-containingcontent that is transmitted to the mobile device 10. Further, the firststorage portion 202 of the first server 20 and the second storageportion 302 of the second server 30 suitably change all or a portion ofthe received first data 213 and second data 313.

In addition to the description above, for the content distributionsystem 2 of the second embodiment, the same symbols have been assignedto constituent elements with the same functions as those of the contentdistribution system 1 of the first embodiment, whereby repetitivedescriptions are avoided.

The operation of the content distribution system 2 will be describednext with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. First, a case where the mobiledevice acquires content at a predetermined time interval will bedescribed by using FIG. 5. A network element (server or the like) of thefirst network 40 generates data (S21) and transmits the generated datato the first data reception portion 211 of the first server 20 (S22).

When the first time interval, which is determined beforehand from a timethat constitutes a starting point such as when the power of the mobiledevice 10 is turned ON, when content is finally acquired, or when thedate is changed, has elapsed in the first timer 104 of the mobile device10 (S23), the transmission control portion 103 outputs transmissioninstruction information to the first transmission portion 101 (S24). Thefirst transmission portion 101 receives an input of transmissioninstruction information, generates a content transmission request thatasks the first server 20 to transmit content (S25), and transmits acontent transmission request to the first transmission request receptionportion 201 of the first server 20 (S26). The first extraction portionof the first storage portion 202 extracts the first content 203, whichis to be transmitted to the mobile device 10, from stored first data 213on the basis of the registered content of the first select contentregistration portion 214 in accordance with the reception of the contenttransmission request by the first transmission request reception portion201 (S27). The first content transmission portion 204 transmits theextracted first content 203 to the reception portion 106 of the mobiledevice 10 (S28).

Although a case where the mobile device 10 acquires the first content203 stored in the first server 20 at the first time interval isdescribed here, the same is true for a case where the mobile device 10acquires the second content 303 stored in the second server 30 at thesecond time interval. More specifically, the first transmission portion101 is replaced with the second transmission portion 102, the firsttimer 104 is replaced with the second timer 105, the first transmissionrequest reception portion 201 is replaced with the second transmissionrequest reception portion 301, the first storage portion 202 is replacedwith the second storage portion 302, the first content 203 is replacedwith the second content 303, the first content transmission portion 204is replaced with the second content transmission portion 304, the firstdata reception portion 211 is replaced with the second data receptionportion 311, the first select content registration portion 214 isreplaced with the second select content registration portion 314, andthe first extraction portion 215 is replaced with the second extractionportion 315 in the above description, and the operation shown in FIG. 5is performed.

Furthermore, the cycle and time interval according to which the networkelement generates data and the cycle and time interval at which data istransmitted are not particularly limited and may be decided arbitrarilyby the content provider. In addition, the first server 20 and secondserver 30 may be constituted to order the transmission of data to thecorresponding first network 40 and second network 50 at optional timeintervals.

Next, a case where data ordering the transmission of first data and anurgent notice is received by the first server 20 from the first network40 and the mobile device 10, which has received the urgent notice viathe first server 20, acquires content will be described by using FIG. 6.Further, the procedure shown in FIG. 6 is equivalent to '2) a case wherecontent containing data relating to an urgent notice from the contentinformation provider is stored in the first storage portion 202′, whichis an embodiment pertaining to the first server 20 of the firstembodiment.

First, the network element (server or the like) of the first network 40generates data and an urgent notice (S31) and the generated data andurgent notice are transmitted to the first data reception portion 211 ofthe first server 20 (S32). The first storage portion 202 extracts theurgent notice from the data that is received by the first data receptionportion 211 (S33) and the urgent notice transmission portion 205transmits the extracted urgent notice to the notice reception portion107 provided in the reception portion 106 of the mobile device 10 (S34).The transmission control portion 103 outputs transmission instructioninformation to the first transmission portion 101 in accordance with thereception of the urgent notice by the notice reception portion 107(S35). The first transmission portion 101 receives an input oftransmission instruction information, generates a content transmissionrequest that asks the first server 20 to transmit content (S36), andtransmits the content transmission request to the first transmissionrequest reception portion 201 of the first server 20 (S37). The firstextraction portion 215 extracts first content 203 (which is content thatcontains at least content corresponding to an urgent notice and is notlimited to content that is registered in the first select contentregistration portion 214), which is to be transmitted to the user of themobile device 10, from the stored first data 213 in accordance with thereception of the content transmission request by the first transmissionrequest reception portion 201 (S38). The first content transmissionportion 204 transmits the extracted first content 203 to the receptionportion 106 of the mobile device 10 (S39).

With such a constitution, in the case of the content distribution system2 of the mobile device of the second embodiment, upon receiving anurgent notice that is transmitted from the first server 20, the mobiledevice 10 is able to request the transmission of content to the firstserver 20. Therefore, the mobile device 10 is able to request thedistribution of content in accordance with an instruction from the firstserver 20 even before a first time interval that is determinedbeforehand by the mobile device has elapsed. In addition, the mobiledevice 10 transmits a content transmission request only in accordancewith an urgent notice that is transmitted from the first server 20.Hence, it is possible to distinguish between a network whoseurgent-notice instruction is to be followed (the first network 40 inthis embodiment) and a network whose urgent-notice instruction is not tobe followed (the second network 50 in this embodiment).

More specifically, when the content provider of the first network 40wishes to distribute content of a highly urgent nature (special news,disaster information, travel information on trains and airplanes and soforth, for example), by transmitting the above urgent notice to thefirst server 20 together with the data, the mobile device 10 is able toissue a request to the first server storing the data transmitted fromthe first network 40 to distribute content even when the user does notoperate the mobile device 10. Further, the mobile device 10 is able toindividually handle each of the networks by transmitting a contenttransmission request only in accordance with an urgent notice that istransmitted from a predetermined network. For example, the first network40 is constituted as a network comprising only a public-type siteauthorized by a telecommunications company and the second network 50 isconstituted as a network comprising only a non-public site, wherebyurgent notices can be handled according to the quality of the respectivenetworks (reliability of the content and so forth).

Moreover, although a case where the number of servers is two wasdescribed in this embodiment by way of example, the number of servers inthe content distribution system of the present invention may be three ormore. In this case, there may be two or more servers that comprise theurgent notice transmission portion 205 for transmitting an urgent noticeto the mobile device 10. There may similarly be three or more networks.

1. A mobile device that receives and displays content transmitted from afirst server and a second server respectively, comprising: firsttransmitting means for transmitting a content transmission requestrequesting the transmission of the content to the first server; secondtransmitting means for transmitting a content transmission requestrequesting the transmission of the content to the second server;transmission control means for outputting transmission instructioninformation ordering the first transmitting means and the secondtransmitting means to transmit the content transmission request; andnotice receiving means for receiving an urgent notice ordering theacquisition of the content transmitted from the first server, whereinthe transmission control means outputs the transmission instructioninformation to the first transmitting means at a predetermined firsttime interval and when the notice receiving means receives the urgentnotice, and outputs the transmission instruction information at apredetermined second time interval to the second transmitting meansregardless of urgent notices received at the notice receiving means fromthe second server.
 2. The mobile device according to claim 1, furthercomprising: first time interval changing means for changing the firsttime interval.
 3. The mobile device according to claim 1, furthercomprising: second time interval changing means for changing the secondtime interval.
 4. A content distribution system, comprising: a firstserver that transmits first content and an urgent notice ordering theacquisition of the content; a second server that transmits secondcontent; a mobile device for receiving and displaying the first contentand the second content, which comprises first transmitting means fortransmitting a content transmission request requesting the transmissionof the first content to the first server, second transmitting means fortransmitting a content transmission request requesting the transmissionof the second content to the second server, transmission control meansfor outputting transmission instruction information that orders thefirst transmitting means and the second transmitting means to transmitthe content transmission request, and receiving means for receiving thefirst content and the urgent notice transmitted from the first serverand receiving the second content transmitted from the second server, thetransmission control means outputting the transmission instructioninformation to the first transmitting means at a predetermined firsttime interval and when the receiving means receives the urgent notice,and outputting the transmission instruction information at apredetermined second time interval to the second transmitting meansregardless of urgent notices received by the receiving means from thesecond server, wherein the first server transmits the first content tothe receiving means of the mobile device upon receipt of the contenttransmission request transmitted from the first transmitting means ofthe mobile device, and the second server transmits the second content tothe receiving means of the mobile device upon receipt of the contenttransmission request transmitted from the second transmitting means ofthe mobile device.
 5. The content distribution system according to claim4, the first server further comprising: first data receiving means forreceiving first data and the urgent notice that are transmitted from aserver constituting a first network; first storing means for storing thefirst data; and first extracting means for extracting, as the firstcontent, at least a portion of the first data stored by the firststoring means, wherein the first server transmits the first content thatis extracted by the first extracting means and the urgent notice to thereceiving means of the mobile device, and the second server comprising:second data receiving means for receiving second data that aretransmitted from a server constituting a second network; second storingmeans for storing the second data; and second extracting means forextracting, as the second content, at least a portion of the second datastored by the second storing means, wherein the second server transmitsthe second content that is extracted by the second extracting means tothe receiving means of the mobile device.
 6. The content distributionsystem according to claim 5, wherein the mobile device further comprisesfirst distributed content selecting means for selecting the firstcontent that is extracted by the first extracting means of the firstserver; the first server comprises first select content registeringmeans for registering the first content selected by the firstdistributed content selecting means; and the first extracting meansextracts data registered by the first storing means in accordance withthe first content registered by the first select content registeringmeans.
 7. The content distribution system according to claim 5 or 6,wherein the mobile device further comprises second distributed contentselecting means for selecting the second content that is extracted bythe second extracting means of the second server; the second servercomprises second select content registering means for registering thesecond content selected by the second distributed content selectingmeans; and the second extracting means extracts data stored by thesecond storing means in accordance with the second content registered bythe second select content registering means.
 8. A content distributionmethod in a system that comprises a first server that transmits firstcontent and an urgent notice ordering the acquisition of the content, asecond server that transmits second content, and a mobile device thatreceives and displays the first content and the second content,comprising: a first transmission step in which the first transmittingmeans of the mobile device transmits a content transmission requestrequesting the transmission of the first content to the first server; asecond transmission step in which the second transmitting means of themobile device transmits a content transmission request requesting thetransmission of the second content to the second server; a transmissioncontrol step in which transmission control means of the mobile deviceoutputs transmission instruction information ordering the firsttransmitting means and the second transmitting means to transmit thecontent transmission request; a first content transmission step in whichthe first server transmits the first content to the receiving means ofthe mobile device upon receipt of the content transmission requesttransmitted from the first transmitting means of the mobile device; asecond content transmission step in which the second server transmitsthe second content to the receiving means of the mobile device uponreceipt of the content transmission request transmitted from the secondtransmitting means of the mobile device; and a receiving step in whichthe receiving means of the mobile device receives the first content andthe urgent notice that are transmitted from the first server or receivesthe second content that is transmitted from the second server, wherein,in the transmission control step, the transmission control means of themobile device outputs the transmission instruction information to thefirst transmitting means at a predetermined first time interval and whenthe receiving means of the mobile device receives the urgent notice, andthe transmission control means of the mobile device outputs thetransmission instruction information to the second transmitting means ata predetermined second time interval regardless of urgent noticesreceived by the receiving means of the mobile device from the secondserver.